Overcoming

Focus: Overcoming by ‘being still’

Psalm 46:10 (KJV) Be still and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

When we’re faced with a pile of things that have to be done—it’s so easy to feel ourselves start to tense up. One of the things that makes us want to run is being overwhelmed with responsibility. It goes against human nature to think that in a time of pressure we could actually ‘be still’. But, we can.

Even when we’ve take on too much and said ‘yes’ too many times—we can ‘be still and know’.

God loves it when we come to the end of ourselves. As long as we are trying to ‘overcome’ in our own strength—He will let us just keep trying…and we will probably just keep failing. It’s hard to remember God won’t force His way on us. He wants us to choose His way…or prefer His way.

He knows the only way we are going to learn His way is the best way—is if He lets us use our own power to do things. I can’t imagine how hard that must be for Him. Think about it. He is God. He can do anything and do whatever He wants to do—perfectly—the first time.

We, on the other hand, are not God. We get a lot of crazy ideas, make impossible plans, and then—fail. We repeat our efforts—as though ‘doing the same thing again is going to produce different results’…and fail again.

It’s funny how failing at something can cause ‘determination’ to kick in. When things don’t turn out right the first time, an indignant attitude can rise up in us and make us feel we have to prove something. So, we go after it again—not wanting to admit defeat.

All the while, our Father in heaven is watching us with patient love, knowing we will eventually wear ourselves out and maybe then we will give Him the chance to show His strength. He is so capable. Nothing is too hard for Him, remember? He waits for us to ‘be still’ so He can go to work for us and win—in the thing we aren’t able to succeed at.

A big problem in the world today is the mess Christians have made of Christianity. By taking so many things into our own hands and trying to exalt ourselves instead of letting God be exalted—we have failed—and world is watching. They see ‘being a Christian’ as ‘being weak’—because of weak Christians who don’t let God, ‘be God’. They don’t see the power of God in us—they just see us.

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It’s so hard to remember that God’s ways are not our ways. God is not who we imagine Him to be. He is so much more. His ways are beyond our imagining. The things we see as impossible are simple in His sight. They are impossible to us because we aren’t looking at them through the eyes of God.

But, it’s more than that. It’s more than just ‘seeing’ things that look impossible as though they were possible. It’s saying, ‘God, I need you’. It’s saying, ‘God, I can’t do this—You’re going to have to do it for me’. It’s saying, ‘God, help me to ‘be still’ and know that You are God’.

What are you facing today that you have been trying to overcome? Have you come to see that battle as impossible? Do you think what you are facing is too hard for God? Many of our struggles as humans are with humans. God can change the heart of a king, according to His Word. You can’t change other people—but, God can. You can stop trying—and ‘be still’, if you want to. You can lay it down and just stop struggling with it. It’s too big for you. You’re not going to win this one on your own. This is that time when God wants to show you what He is capable of. If you could just truly ‘be still’.

Doing something God’s way is usually the opposite of the way human nature would do it. Humans want to ‘be strong’. God wants us to ‘be weak’, so He can be strong for us. Why is that so hard for us? When we think of overcoming something we haven’t been able to beat—our mind tells us we just have to work harder and then we’ll make it happen. Truthfully, that’s just the opposite of what Psalm 46:10 indicates. True overcoming is when we say, ‘I give up’. It’s when we decide to take our hands off the situation and ‘be still’. It’s when we surrender all and just let God, be God.

When we don’t see immediate results, we can think He’s not doing anything and be tempted to jump back into the battle. Once again—His ways are not ours. His timetable is not ours, either. Overcoming is surrendering—period.

Declaration: I will find new strength and victory by being still. I will stop trying to exalt myself and let God be exalted. When others see the miracles that happen—they will know it is God, and not me.